The “Building a robust and democratic civic space” (BUILD) programme focused on protecting, promoting and raising awareness of the EU’s fundamental rights and values. It sought to demonstrate through actual projects that, far from being purely theoretical concepts, these rights and values are real-life principles with the potential to become our lived reality. These words brought to an end the closing event of the BUILD programme, which, starting in 2022 and with a total budget of €2.9 million, would ultimately support the implementation of 42 projects by 64 organizations in Greece and Cyprus, strengthening Civil Society and giving a voice to actions that promote the values of the European Union.
Indicative results of the programme:
- More than 1.5 million people participated in awareness-raising and educational activities
- Over 3,000 people received support services
- 58 new tools have been created to strengthen and promote EU rights and values.
The event, which was hosted by journalist Lina Giannarou, included a discussion on “How do we safeguard the EU’s fundamental values in practice?” featuring Maria Gavouneli, President of the Greek National Commission of Human Rights; Christina Karakosta, Policy Officer in the Rule of Law Unit of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice; and Vasiliki Karzi, a lawyer and legal researcher specializing in human rights. The results of the programme were also presented by the team of the Bodossaki Foundation and the NGO Support Centre, while the event was accompanied by stories related by beneficiaries and representatives of the funded organizations which highlighted the broader social impact of the program in a vivid and human way.
The event included greetings from Athina Dessypri, President of the Bodossaki Foundation; Domna Michailidou, Minister for Social Cohesion and Family Affairs; Charis Alexandrou, Financial Officer of the NGO Support Centre; and Charles de Chefdebien, Representative of the European Commission (EACEA), who spoke about the programme’s importance and its role in protecting and promoting the EU’s fundamental values.